lime pointing?

[Gups 1828]

Snow Cem is a lot less hassle if you've not had any experience with lime and will prob last longer once it's done! Good luck..

[muttley9050]

Alec is about right. Do lots of lime work and the main difficulty is the weather. Don't want hot sun, rain or frost.

Did a renovation job once that took nearly two years, job spec was no cement, no rollers for painting etc etc. When it came to pointing the patio the weather was terrible. When in the lock up one day I accidentally spilt and emptied a bag of lime, in the same movement I knocked a bag of white cement over and it neatly filled the lime bag. That did come in useful. Don't like using cement as a rule but it does drastically increase your working season.

 

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[agg221]

I am now most of the way through an extension to my house, which is listed and the spec. was lime on the visible brickwork plinth at the base - I had to do a test panel to the Listed Building Officer's satisfaction. It got quite entertaining as originally she specified that non-hydraulic lime be used while Building Control required cement. We let them fight it out for a bit and in the end my architect suggested NHL5 which they both agreed to be a suitable compromise (it's what we had planned all along but much easier to get them to accept when it seemed like a compromise for both of them. The Listed Buildings Officer also kept telling me my joints were too wide - I am using brickworks seconds which are very close to the original 15th century bricks and anything but straight. In the end I put some bricks together dry, touching one another and pointed up the outside. She conceded that I couldn't make the joints any narrower as my minimum gap was around 2mm - she had got a vision that old brickwork looked like Georgian style work with tuck pointing.

 

I enjoy using lime - I went on and used it for all the blockwork too. The roof ridge and eaves are done in Snow Cem though, on the recommendation of my architect, but still with sharp sand and brushed over. I use a stiff bristle brush just after the mortar is solid but before it has set hard.

 

I must admit I prefer the carpentry though, particularly since I have milled or cleaved or hewn every piece of timber in the thing, right down to the tile batten!

 

Alec

[oldwoodcutter]

Just as an aside if i may,was doing some treework beside old pentney abbey few weeks ago which was in the final stages of being renovated (2 years) and as i was working beside one of the stonemasons who was laying new stone with lime mortar,i asked him what mix he had to use .

He said 6 sand 1 lime,but went on to say that the old foundation mortar was analysed before work started and unbelievably those old masons used 1 sand to 6 lime.

[Woodworks]

I am now most of the way through an extension to my house, which is listed and the spec. was lime on the visible brickwork plinth at the base - I had to do a test panel to the Listed Building Officer's satisfaction. It got quite entertaining as originally she specified that non-hydraulic lime be used while Building Control required cement. We let them fight it out for a bit and in the end my architect suggested NHL5 which they both agreed to be a suitable compromise (it's what we had planned all along but much easier to get them to accept when it seemed like a compromise for both of them. The Listed Buildings Officer also kept telling me my joints were too wide - I am using brickworks seconds which are very close to the original 15th century bricks and anything but straight. In the end I put some bricks together dry, touching one another and pointed up the outside. She conceded that I couldn't make the joints any narrower as my minimum gap was around 2mm - she had got a vision that old brickwork looked like Georgian style work with tuck pointing.

 

I enjoy using lime - I went on and used it for all the blockwork too. The roof ridge and eaves are done in Snow Cem though, on the recommendation of my architect, but still with sharp sand and brushed over. I use a stiff bristle brush just after the mortar is solid but before it has set hard.

 

I must admit I prefer the carpentry though, particularly since I have milled or cleaved or hewn every piece of timber in the thing, right down to the tile batten!

 

Alec

 

Any chance of some pictures Alec

Edited March 27, 2014 by Woodworks